ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Hantaviridae 2024

Abstract Hantaviridae is a family for negative-sense RNA viruses with genomes of about 10.5–14.6 kb. These viruses are maintained in and/or transmitted by fish, reptiles, and mammals. Several orthohantaviruses can infect humans, causing mild, severe, and sometimes-fatal diseases. Hantavirids produce enveloped virions containing three single-stranded RNA segments with open reading frames that encode a nucleoprotein (N), a glycoprotein precursor (GPC), and a large (L) protein containing an RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRP) domain. This is a summary of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Report on the family Hantaviridae, which is available at ictv.global/report/hantaviridae.


Abstract
Hantaviridae is a family for negative-sense RNA viruses with genomes of about 10.5-14.6 kb.These viruses are maintained in and/or transmitted by fish, reptiles, and mammals.Several orthohantaviruses can infect humans, causing mild, severe, and sometimes-fatal diseases.Hantavirids produce enveloped virions containing three single-stranded RNA segments with open reading frames that encode a nucleoprotein (N), a glycoprotein precursor (GPC), and a large (L) protein containing an RNAdirected RNA polymerase (RdRP) domain.This is a summary of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Report on the family Hantaviridae, which is available at ictv.global/report/hantaviridae.

REPLICATION
Hantavirid infection starts with virion attachment, mediated by G N and G C .Protocadherin-1 is a clade-specific receptor of American orthohantaviruses required for entry into endothelial cells and alternative receptors may be used in other cell types.After uptake into the endosome, G C drives membrane fusion with the host cell resulting in early or late endosomal release of the virion RNP complex into the cytoplasm in a pH-dependent manner [2].During primary transcription, L generates uncapped antigenomic RNA molecules that are then capped using host cell-derived capped primers (cap snatching).L and S segment-transcribed mRNAs are translated by free ribosomes.M segment-transcribed mRNA is translated by membrane-bound ribosomes, with the expressed GPC cleaved likely by cellular proteases to yield G N and G C .The synthesis of the antigenomic RNA by L protein serves as a template for genomic RNA replication.Secondary transcription amplifies the synthesis of mRNAs and genome replication [3].During biogenesis, G N and G C traffic to the Golgi or ER-Golgi intermediate apparatus and upon interaction of their cytoplasmic tails with the viral ribonucleocapsids new virions bud from cellular membranes for their subsequent release; specific assembly sites remain to be established [3].

PATHOGENICITY
Orthohantaviruses tend to cause chronic, largely asymptomatic infection in their host reservoirs.Human infection can occur after inhalation of aerosolized excreta of infected mammalian hosts.Two main syndromes have been identified: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), caused by orthohantaviruses endemic in the Americas, and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), caused by orthohantaviruses originating in Europe and Asia [4].
Funding informationProduction of this Profile, the ICTV Report, and associated resources was supported by the Microbiology Society.This work was supported in part through the Laulima Government Solutions, LLC, prime contract with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C.J.H.K. performed this work as an employee of Tunnell Government Services (TGS), a subcontractor of Laulima Government Solutions, LLC, under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C.N.T. received support from ANID CCTE Basal FB210008.The content of this publication should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or of the institutions and companies affiliated with the authors.

Table 1 .
Characteristics of members of the family Hantaviridae